Coinbase Expands With Federal Charter, CFTC Faces States Over Markets, Metaplanet Buys Big Bitcoin, Circle Launches cirBTC Token, and more...

Good morning, it's April 3rd and this is your daily brief in crypto.

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A federal charter for Coinbase would standardize regulation across its custody and market infrastructure,

moving away from a patchwork of state rules toward a unified, federally supervised framework.

Coinbase's leadership signals that federal oversight would lay the groundwork for new products and services,

expanding the company's institutional offerings.

The charter aims to bolster infrastructure for emerging payment solutions and financial services

for both institutional partners and retail users, addressing gaps in crypto custody.

The OCC has granted conditional approval for a national trust company charter,

advancing federally supervised crypto custody efforts and paving the way for additional product scope.

This charter could enable new payment capabilities and services,

expanding Coinbase's reach in institutional and client ecosystems.

A federal custody framework would offer federal fiduciary standards, unified operations across states,

and institutional grade custody with strong internal controls and cold storage.

A national charter would position Coinbase as a stronger competitor to traditional custodians like

BNY-Mellon and State Street, with a crypto-native, integrated technology stack.

Coinbase remains active in state regulatory efforts and continues legal challenges

related to its prediction markets, with federal versus state oversight a central issue.

The move comes amid Washington debates on crypto regulation,

including discussions around the Clarity Act that would provide regulatory certainty,

currently stalled in the Senate.

As of mid 2025, Coinbase reported roughly $245 billion in assets under custody,

underscoring the significance of a federal framework for its institutional business and market position.

The charter could expand custody and banking capabilities,

potentially broadening services like tokenized assets and stablecoins,

as noted by Coinbase executives.

A national trust would create passportable federally governed custody across all 50 states,

reducing fragmented licensing and aligning with federal fiduciary duties.

A major fight over how prediction markets should be regulated is unfolding in federal court,

with the U.S.C.FTC arguing it has sole federal authority to oversee markets like Kalshi and Polymarket

and to treat their event contracts as swaps under federal law.

The suits come after states sent cease and desist letters to Kalshi and Polymarket

over gambling licensing concerns, and they hinge on the view that the contracts fall under federal

not-state gambling codes.

Prediction markets have gained prominence across political events, economic data and other real world outcomes,

raising the regulatory stakes for how these platforms operate.

Industry insiders connected to the platforms and past insider trading episodes cited as context

are part of the scrutiny as the cases move forward.

Experts describe the lawsuits as a major escalation that could determine whether these markets are regulated

as finance or gambling, with potential implications up to the Supreme Court.

Legal ambiguity persists, and rulings could diverge on federal preemption and enforcement,

shaping future regulatory pathways.

Legislative activity and ongoing tension between federal and state perspectives

continue to influence jurisdiction and market impact.

The DOJ's involvement signals broad federal enforcement interest,

including probes into insider trading and suspicious trading around political and economic events.

Some platforms have strengthened rules against insider trading, but regulators may remain unsatisfied with self-policing.

The ninth circuit appeal in Kalshi-related cases progresses this spring as part of ongoing litigation involving Kalshi,

Robinhood, and others.

Event contracts trace back to academic markets for elections and indicators

with federal oversight expanding after the 2008 crisis to curb manipulation.

Metaplanet has disclosed it bought 5,075 bitcoin in the first quarter of 2026 for about $398 million,

lifting its total to $40,177 bitcoin and making it the third largest publicly traded holder of bitcoin.

The company's long-term target remains 210,000 bitcoin by end of 2027,

signaling ongoing capital raises and income generation activities across multiple quarters.

Its strategy is led by two dominant players in the space, with Metaplanet behind the top holders,

but ahead of peers like bitcoin standard treasury corp and bullish.

Chief Executive Officer Simon Jaravitch frames bitcoin as a long-term reserve asset

in Japan amid inflation and yen depreciation, reinforcing a treasury-focused approach.

In 2025, accounting losses were driven by impairment and reporting,

but operating bitcoin-related activities showed revenue and operating income growth, indicating underlying expansion.

The capital plan includes rolling options derived income into long-term bitcoin holdings,

turning derivatives revenue into more BTC over time.

The company is building a bitcoin income generation segment to diversify yields beyond price moves.

The rise to third place reflects steady accumulation rather than a single surge,

suggesting a durable shift in corporate bitcoin ownership dynamics.

Full year 2025 revenue from the segment was about $53.7 million,

with trailing 12-month revenue near 71.5 million,

underscoring a two-track approach of expanding the treasury, while recycling option derived revenue into more BTC.

Metaplanet has broadened into venture capital and asset management,

including an investment in the Japanese stablecoin, JPYC, as part of its broader strategy,

and the article notes related material on crypto privacy and broader bitcoin market dynamics tied to geopolitical developments

without detailing specific metaplanet investments.

The strategy includes bitcoin-linked shareholder perks,

and an upcoming card rewards program with about 1.6% cashback in BTC,

aimed at funding future income activities.

Circle unveils CIRBTC, a one-to-one-backed-wrapped bitcoin token designed for real-time on chain reserve verification

and institutional exposure to bitcoin across DeFi and TradFi.

The token will launch on Ethereum mainnet and Circle's arc stablecoin blockchain,

leveraging circles existing infrastructure and integrations with USD coin and circle mint.

This marks Circle's move beyond Fiat stablecoins into major crypto assets to support on chain BTC use cases,

with important risk disclosures about price volatility, lack of legal tender status,

no deposit insurance, and suitability concerns for some consumers.

Circle's stock, CRCL, hovered around $90 and has declined roughly 40% over six months,

reflecting broader market volatility.

Target users include over-the-counter desks, market makers, lending protocols, derivatives platforms,

and liquidity providers seeking secure collateral or settlement assets across crypto-native and traditional finance environments.

The product targets institutions with custody risk and transparency concerns that have historically limited their participation in digital assets.

The wrapped BTC space has faced controversy, including past disputes over custodian partnerships and delistings,

though one related lawsuit was later dropped.

Circle's leadership announced CIRBTC on social media, and crypto media outlets began analyzing its implications for custody, liquidity, and interoperability.

CIRBTC enters a competitive landscape with established wrapped BTCs like WBTC and CBBTC,

which together account for several billion in market cap.

The emphasis is on institutional use, over-the-counter desks, market makers, and lending protocols, focusing on neutrality, security, and high performance,

and enabling institutional holders to gain Bitcoin exposure through DFI and TRADFI without selling their BTC holdings.

Bitcoin weakened after Trump's signaled continued strikes on Iran, slipping about 2% to around 66,400,

as his address suggested the military campaign was nearing its main goals, but warned of more strikes in the coming weeks.

In London trading, Bitcoin slid as much as 2.9% to roughly 66,300, with Ether and Solana also down as geopolitical risk resurfaced after Trump's signaled tougher strikes against Iran.

The divergence between oil and Bitcoin underlines a risk off dynamic in Middle East tensions, with investors rotating toward energy assets, while crypto faced heightened risk perceptions.

Markets moved in opposite directions in real time, with crypto and oil reacting to the same geopolitical news but diverging due to different risk assessments and drivers.

Uncertainty persisted due to a wide gap between United States and Iranian demands, with the prospect of renewed strikes fueling ongoing market volatility.

Overall, geopolitical tension, regulatory questions around the Clarity Act, and subdued on chain activity suggest Bitcoin could continue trading without a clear near-term direction.

Technical takeaway notes show price rallies capped around 68,000 with resistance and liquidity constraints, limiting upside despite brief moves above 67,000.

Over the past four days, crypto equities had momentum on hopes of a near end to the conflict, but today's session reversed that with renewed selling pressure.

Bitcoin has historically tracked equities during periods of uncertainty, showing resilience to macro developments, but with limited upside after a prior March gain that ended a five-month losing streak.

United States listed spot Bitcoin exchange traded funds posted about $174 million in net outflows on Wednesday, signaling cautious sentiment amid regulatory questions and ongoing uncertainty.

Despite the outflows, March still yielded roughly $1.1 billion in net inflows into United States listed spot Bitcoin exchange traded funds, indicating macro sensitivity among investors.

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